Capital City Kayak Fishing Tournament by Brett Humphries

Capital City Kayak Fishing Tournament Series Stop #3 was held at Lake Bastrop this past Saturday, March 9th.  I believe 36 anglers braved the tough conditions, 3 in the fly division and 33 in the conventional division.  The day dawned cloudy, and winds in the 15 -25 mph. range.  Not promising, but “what the heck, we’re here”!  The paddle from the North Shore launch was uneventful, if not blustery!

I started fishing in Middle Lake Flats cove.  My original plan was to throw a Umpqua Todd’s Wiggle Minnow  on a slow sink line.  I tried it for a little while and decided to change the plan.  I have been working on a new weedless foam frog pattern, and since the day was going to be challenging, why not up the challenge?  I caught my 1st. bass about 10 AM, a chunky 15.5″ fish.  Things were looking up!

Hoping to put a fish an hour “in the box”, I started working the weedy shoreline.  The winds seemed to be picking up, and the pines were swaying heavily.  Lake Bastrop is a lovely little gem about 45 miles east of Austin, in an area called “Lost Pines”.  I was working it hard, with no luck!  I made another cast and my fly wrapped around some blades of grass, and “BAM!”, the second bass hit.  The fish ran towards me, and I had a hard time keeping up!  I got the net out, and brought a 16 1/4″ fish into my “NUCANOE Frontier”.

The next 3 hours brought nothing but higher wind gusts and no fish!  I headed back to the launch, and I think I paddled all the way back using only my left (port) side paddle blade.  I felt comfortable and safe in my boat, although the wind was brutal!  Having about 90 minutes left to prospect, I probed the north shore.  The area looked really fishy, but “NADA!”  I limped home, hoping I had the “winning bag”.  In the end, my 31 3/4″ was good enough for second place.
Adam Hansen took 1st. place in the fly division.  Joseph Sanderson, an Austin local attending TCU in Fort Worth, took first place in the conventional division, with over 94″ in the bag.  I must add that it was Joseph’s first time fishing Lake Bastrop, and fishing in the CCKFT.  Congratulations to every one who braved the tough conditions.  Looking forward to seeing you on April 20, in the Championship Stop.

I would like to thank my sponsor, Blake Young at NUCANOE.  They make an awesome boat, especially for standing and fishing from.  Keep an eye out for the new 10′ Frontier, due out in mid May.  Despite the tough conditions, I felt safe and comfortable.  In addition, the “CCKFTS” would not be possible without the hard work of Dan Walker at MOC Kayaks and Beau Reed at Papa Chops.  Thanks for participating!  See you April 20 on the lower Colorado!